28th January 2015 6:00
By Blue Tutors
A new campaign launched by employers has called for so called “soft skills” such as communication skills and team work to become a bigger priority for schools. The Development Economics Research Group has said that business which rely on face to face interactions face huge losses if these basic skills are not adequately fostered in schools. Their research suggests that “soft skills” are worth £88bn to the UK economy, and seeks to challenge to view that these skills are woolly and can’t be taught. The research group is also seeking challenge the view that academic skills should necessarily be more highly valued, arguing that in many areas, soft skills are more important.
Employers McDonalds and Barclays have joined the campaign, and have said that they want to challenge the view that soft skills have no economic value. The campaign argues that soft skills dramatically increase workplace productivity, and have raised concerns that these skills are diminishing amongst young people. The Economics Research Group’s findings suggest that lack of soft skills lead to increased operating costs, delays in service development and delivery, quality problems and loss of business. The group have said that unless steps are taken to improve these skills in young people, there over half a million people would be prevented from obtaining the job opportunities they wanted to pursue by the end of the decade.
The campaign is petitioning the government to implement policies designed to improve the development and reputations of skills including communication and teamwork. They noted that it is often assumed that academic skills are most valuable, but in many cases so called “soft skills” made all the difference. The campaign outlines the need to define the necessary skills more clearly as a step towards teaching and encouraging these skills in young people. The campaign is backed by the Confederation of British Industry, which said that developing the right basic skills and attitudes was just as crucial as the necessary academic or technical skills.